


Sunset moment - I won't let go

by JulaShona



Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Clerith, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:41:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24159043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JulaShona/pseuds/JulaShona
Summary: Costa del Sol or sunny beach. No matter how you call it. It’s in every way a sunny and pleasant place where relaxation is a must for every visitor. However, Cloud seems to experience something new about Aerith while they are taking a break there.Is it something good or does he have to worry about it?
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife
Comments: 1
Kudos: 34





	Sunset moment - I won't let go

**Author's Note:**

> Hello dear Clerith shippers! I am totally new on this ship but I can’t help and write little Clerith moments with lots of fluff that I can’t get out of my head if I don’t write it down. 
> 
> Please, note that **English is NOT my native language** and I’ve never written fanfiction in another language than German, but the German fandom is just too small for these stories to get noticed! Lucky you! So, please, be gentle with me. 
> 
> Feel free to send me a corrected version for improvement!

The group arrived Costa del Sol. All agreed to take a little break and to spend the time the way everyone wished to before the journey would go on.  
Cloud just joined the others at the inn and instantly seemed to notice something or rather someone was missing.  
„Where’s Aerith?“, he asked.  
Tifa turned to him and said: „She already went out on her own. She said that she needed a moment for herself.“  
Cloud didn’t answer. Nobody did. They all knew that she had to bear a huge burden regarding the planet and Sephiroth. They all could feel that she was thinking she had to bear it all alone, as she was the only remaining Cetra. Even though they knew that they were all supporting her as much as they could, at the end they only could show sympathy for her.  
“I don’t know about you, but I definitely need a drink after all this shit. If nobody wants to join me then I am heading to the bar now.”, Barret said and left without waiting for an answer from the others.  
“Don’t bother looking for me!”, Yuffie shouted out while she ran outside.  
This only left Cloud, Tifa and Nanaki.  
“What about you guys? Do you have any plans?”, Tifa asked.  
“I’ll just stay here in this cool place.”, Nanaki just answered, tired of the heat, and laid down on the floor.  
“Cloud?”, but there came no reaction from him.  
Tifa tilted her head in confusion. Didn’t hear me? She came over to him and realised that he was lost in his thoughts. With her hand she waved in front of his face to get him back to reality.  
Cloud suddenly snapped out of his daydream and said: “Sorry… I was just thinking.”  
Tifa laughed amused that she caught him off guard. “It’s okay. I just asked if you have anything on your mind about what to do for the rest of the day.”  
“Not really.”  
“Shall we go somewhere together?”, she asked with a sweet smile on her face.  
“I am not really in the mood for a city tour.”  
Tifa pouted, feeling a little bit disappointed over his cold reaction, but that is how he was. She accepted it and said playfully: “Well, your pity. Then I will join Barret for a while. If you might feel in the mood you can join us anytime.”  
Cloud just watched her leaving the room of the inn before he headed to one of the beds. He really felt like needing some rest, therefore he placed his sword on the wall and laid down with a sigh.  
“You should not waist your youth, kid.”, he heard Nanaki say.  
“What do you mean?”, Cloud asked with closed eyes.  
“You never know what tomorrow will come. When did you ever had the chance to visit a place like this? You might will regret on day that you didn’t embrace this moment when you had the chance to do so.”  
Cloud opened his eyes. These words somehow felt familiar to him. He needed a few seconds to remember where he heard them. Suddenly it hit him! He said it himself… in his dream… with Aerith. This girl somehow brought huge chaos into his mind, but he could not deny that he let it happen consciously. Being concerned about her wellbeing, about her happiness… he made it to his own constant mission to make sure she was okay, even if he had to jump over his own shadow to accomplish that.  
He sighed. _My own fault_ , he just thought and stared to the ceiling of the room.  
Though he didn’t understand, yet, where these desires came from, but he definitely had a clue what was going on with him and deep inside it scared him regarding the situation right now. From the moment when she told him in his dream to not fall for her, he felt that it might was already too late to ask for that. He didn’t even understand why she even said something like that. It was still his own choice, not hers. Nobody could ever decide over his own feelings as they were his. Furthermore, for a while now he had a feeling that she was hiding something… something important. He really wanted to know what it was.  
His head suddenly began to ache. She sure was some girl to get him out of his comfort zone though she was not here.  
Slowly he started to get up and turned his head towards the window. Maybe he should go for a walk and clear his mind for a while? Yeah, maybe that’s what he should do for now.  
“You’re right, Nanaki.”, he said and took his sword before he left Nanaki alone.

The sunset was already filling the sky with its soothing colours. It was still warm outside, but occasionally a pleasant breeze flew past him and swirled his spiky blond hair in the air. The wind felt like a gentle stroke that literally vanished all unnecessary thoughts out of his mind, as if all problems were never there.  
He just arrived the stairs that were leading to the beach. Only a few people were still there, enjoying the sunset. He wanted to go ahead but just in that moment a familiar silhouette caught his attention that he might recognise anywhere. He was not so sure if he should stay and watch her, just in case, or just go ahead with his walk, but it didn’t take him so long to decide. He just stood there, stunned about how she was slowly walking down the beach, barefooted near the water with a dreamy gaze, her dress flying magically with the wind. He didn’t know what an angel really looked alike, but if he knew then it might look like Aerith. She physically seemed so fragile and tender but mentally she was so strong. However, he had to admit he was worried that she might break if she kept going on by keeping so many secrets from them… from him.  
Suddenly he saw how she kneeled down to the sand as if she found something in it. Without hesitation Cloud made his way to her, to make sure that everything was okay.

Aerith took the interesting item out of the sand and tried to remove the sand from it. She felt a wave coming nearer and kept her hands over the sand, so that the water could wash the object clean. With a gentle smile she examined the object. She never saw something like that for real. It was quite big, almost as big as her own hand.  
“What are you doing there?”, she heard a familiar voice asking her not too far away.  
She turned her head to ensure herself she was right. Her feeling didn’t betray her.  
“Cloud.”, she said his name a little bit surprised, but in a positive way.  
She turned back to her item in her Hand and said: “I just found this!”, and showed it to him proudly.  
“A shell?”  
“Isn’t it beautiful?”  
“Dunno.”, Cloud just answered shrugging his shoulders.  
Aerith looked up to him.  
“You’re a meani, ya know.”, she said and stood up.  
She was facing the sunset and felt instantly at peace while watching it. It felt so warm and calming. She liked it a lot and whished for a second that this moment should never end.  
“Any reason you wanted to be alone?”, she heard Cloud asking her.  
She smiled and said: “No special reason.”  
Suddenly she found him right beside her who was looking concerned into her eyes.  
“Why do I have the feeling that this might not be true?”  
Aerith’s eyes widened by surprise. She didn’t think that something like that would come, but no matter how much she would like to give him the answers his eyes were searching, she could not tell him.  
She turned away from him and her eyes changed from being surprised to being lost. Everything that was going through her mind revolved around that special moment, that should have been vanished with Destiny’s defeat, but lately she had doubts about her fate being rewritten, that was unwillingly connected to Cloud’s.  
Cloud didn’t miss her hesitation. So, somewhere he was right, however, she did not seem to be willing to tell him the truth.  
“Should I go?”, he suddenly asked.  
He did not want to pressure her. She needed to tell him on her own free will.  
Again, she did not answer and even did not move for a while, as if she was somewhere else with her mind.  
Cloud sighed and just let it be. He wanted to make his way back to the inn… but he could not. Confused he looked down to his hand where the reason was why he stopped.  
Aerith just grabbed him around his wrist and stopped him from leaving her alone.  
Their eyes met and Aerith whispered: “Don’t go… please.”  
What Cloud just saw in her eyes was so different to everything he has seen from her until now. Was that… fear? It somehow broke his heart to see her like that and he certainly did not like it.

They were alone, sitting on the stairs and watching silently the sunset. No one of them said a word, waiting for the other one to say something.  
“I am afraid.”, Cloud heard her saying suddenly.  
“From what?”  
Aerith was still holding the shell in her hand. She raised her arm and held the shell representative in the air.  
“This shell is so thin and vulnerable. It might look solid and strong as if nothing could harm it, but only one heavy impact is needed to break it in 100 pieces that might never get together again.”  
Cloud did not know what she was talking about, so he kept silent and listened carefully.  
“I don’t want the shell get broken, especially not because of me. No matter what I did or what I said, no matter how hard I tried, I still have the feeling that the fate of this shell, getting broken forever, might not change.”  
Cloud somehow had the feeling that she was talking about someone, though he was not so sure who that person was. Was it possible that- Suddenly this weird pain started to drum in his head again. He griped onto his aching head and right before his eyes he saw Aerith praying at an unknown place. Within the next second he saw blood dropping on the floor and Aerith’s body on the brink of falling to the ground. He was breathing heavily as if something was tying up his breath, heart beating in panic as if his life was in danger. Before he could see any further Aerith’s sweet voice brought him back to reality.  
“Cloud!”, she called worried his name.  
Eyes wide in shock and filled with tears looked to Aerith’s concerned face.  
She laid her hand softly over his on his head and said: “It’s okay.”  
Cloud almost felt like bursting out in tears. What did he just see… and why? All these visions that he had seen, triggered while being with her or through the arbiters of fate, they were all similar, but none of them were so… frightening… and real at the same time. After he realised her touching his hand, he instinctively grabbed her hand and held it with the utmost care. He did not want to hurt her but at the same time he wanted to protect her, no matter what.  
His heart slowly relaxed back to its regular beat while they were holding their hands.  
“Are you okay?”, he heard her ask, still worried over him.  
His eyes looked down to their hands that were holding onto each other.  
“I won’t let go... no matter what.”  
Their eyes met again, but this time knowing what the other one was feeling at this moment. The connection with their hands was enough to let the other one know about the feelings for one another.  
Aerith did not know how she should take this. She never wanted him to get attached to her… not again, just for his sake. Yet, he did… but this time was different… something was different… and she hoped that it was a good different.


End file.
